


Adherence to Proper Procedure

by houselesbian



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Abandonment Issues, Also they care for each other a lot, BDSM, Bottom Galo, Degrading Language, Galo can be a little dense, M/M, Objectification, PWP, Top Lio, addressed in chapter 5, detailed CWs at start of each chapter, filthy porn, honestly? porn with a little plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-18
Updated: 2020-01-05
Packaged: 2021-02-12 13:53:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21477442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/houselesbian/pseuds/houselesbian
Summary: Lio is a nasty little top and Galo is Into It.Also they love and respect each-other.Current chapter: Lio and Galo think about their problems and seek advice from others.
Relationships: Lio Fotia/Galo Thymos
Comments: 330
Kudos: 2288





	1. Adherence to Proper Procedure

**Author's Note:**

> CW: _Accidentally_ under-negotiated kink. The sex is rough, the consent is very enthusiastic and the discussions are had but just a little late in the game. 
> 
> This was written because there can always be more Top Lio in this fandom.

“Do you know the stoplight system?” Lio asked, one night, over drinks.

“Of course I do,” Galo replied.

It was a very weird question.

“And you’re comfortable using it?” Lio said.

“It’s pretty easy to remember,” Galo scoffed.

“Oh,” Lio said. “Good to know.”

Galo did not, at that point, realise why Lio cared about his adherence to traffic safety laws.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Three weeks after the end of the world, Lio invited himself over to Galo’s apartment. It wasn’t much to speak of, a tiny studio in a relatively untouched corner of the city. Galo didn’t even have a coat rack or a hall closet. Lio had to leave his boots by the door and his coat folded neatly on the kitchen table. His black, leather gloves were also removed, slowly, tugged loose, finger by finger. He had his eyes locked with Galo’s for every moment of it.

“So, what do you want to do?” Galo asked. “We could watch a movie…”

Lio threaded his newly bare hand through Galo’s hair and _pulled_.

“Get on the bed,” he ordered.

“Okay,” Galo replied.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Galo’s desires had always been very nebulous and abstract. His past experience consisted of his own hand and porn, which hadn’t been superbly informative. It was, therefore, incredibly helpful to find out that Lio knew exactly what he wanted and that was Galo face down, ass fucked.

“Oh _god_,” Galo whimpered.

Lio slapped his ass and Galo tightened like a vice around the first cock that had ever owned him.

“Do you like that,” Lio said, just a little meanly.

Galo moaned pitifully. Words had fled him. His hole was hot and sore and transcendent. Lit up with the slick fuck fuck _fuck_ of Lio’s cock inside him, each snap his hips when he thrust so deep into Galo’s body. Galo’s arms had failed him five minutes in and now he was pressed chest down against the sheets, Lio’s grip the only thing keeping his hips up. Galo knew his cock was dripping, untouched. When he’d tried otherwise, Lio had smacked his hand away and told him he’d come on Lio’s dick like a good boy, or not at all.

“I’m going to make you suck it, later,” Lio said, ever ready with another stream of orgasmic filth.

Galo panted, “Uh, uh.”

“How do you want it, Galo? On your face or in your mouth.”

“I don’t know,” Galo said, shaking and desperate.

“Maybe both,” Lio said, with a nasty grind of his hips that sparked every nerve in Galo’s body. “Make your face all sticky while you hold my cum on your tongue.”

Galo’s eyes rolled into the back of his head.

“Do you swallow, Galo? You’re going to swallow mine.” His voice was a heady growl in Galo’s ear.

“_Yes, Sir_…”

“Oh fuck, you’re perfect,” Lio said, aggression slipping for a moment as he curled his hand into Galo’s hair once more and petted him sweetly.

Galo had his head turned to the side, so he could breathe better. It meant he could meet Lio’s eyes as the other man looked at him with fond approval. Galo’s hips went warm and liquid, receptive, ready for Lio to fuck him hard again. Lio did some wonderful grind and dip with his next thrust, pressing hard and slow against Galo’s prostate. Galo’s hands gripped at the sheets.

“Lio, Lio…”

Lio picked up his pace but didn’t change his rhythm. Galo felt something swell inside him, intimidating, a pulse that grew and grew, entirely unfamiliar. He cried out, not sure if he wanted to press into it or squirm away. His body shook, his voice went high.

“That’s it,” Lio said.

Galo whined. Too much, too much, but he wanted Lio to make him take it. He couldn’t build this exquisite pain, this terrible pleasure on his own. Galo hadn’t known he could do this, that his body could be made do this.

Above him, Lio panted, groaned. He took his pleasure from Galo’s body like it was owed to him and all Galo had to do was take it.

“It’s so much,” Galo whined.

Lio fucked him harder, breath catching. Galo was so close, desperate, if he could just touch his cock, he’d cum and break apart like a star exploding. So close—

“D-don’t…”

_Don’t stop_.

Lio stopped.

“Galo?” Lio asked.

And then he _pulled his dick out_.

“No, no, no,” Galo cried, empty and bereft. “Don’t stop, don’t stop, Lio, please!”

“Fuck,” Lio hissed and just like that he was inside again, railing him, so hard Galo slid forward on the mattress and had to brace his arms against the wall.

His hips slipped, finally, pressed down against the sheets, and Lio followed him, shifted his legs until they framed Galo’s own, his feet hooked around the inside of Galo’s knees. He curled his arms under Galo’s body so he could grip his shoulders. Lio fucked selfishly, not even aiming for Galo’s sweet spot anymore, and that just made it hotter. Galo’s cock brushed against the sheets as his swollen little hole took Lio’s dick. That was what it was for. He hadn’t known.

Lio pressed flat against Galo’s back, cock in deep, and brushed his lips against Galo’s ear.

“I’m going to cum in you,” he said.

Galo moaned, pitifully.

“Thank me for it,” Lio said, his voice full of grit.

“Thank you, Lio,” Galo cried.

“Galo?”

“Yes, Sir,” Galo slurred, fuck-stupid.

“Tighten your little fuck hole and _cum_,” he hissed.

Galo’s body went incandescent, helpless around Lio’s pitiless cock, milking it as it worked him past mindless orgasm into twitching sensitivity. The centre of it, the needy little gland inside him, sent sweet, sharp shocks through his body as Lio fucked against it. Galo could help but squirm and whine as Lio used him.

“Want me to stop?” Lio asked, hips stilling.

“Want you to cum,” Galo pleaded.

Lio thrust inside him, hard, twice, three times, and then he shouted wordlessly into Galo’s shoulder and _came_.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I didn’t know I could do that,” Galo said once he could speak again.

Lio had rolled off his back and pulled Galo against his chest. He was playing with Galo’s hair, his fingers gentle. In the matter of minutes, he had turned from a demanding sexual demon into a doting boyfriend. Both were version of Lio that Galo hadn’t met before, but found he liked.

“You were amazing,” Lio said, with a little kiss against Galo’s forehead. “You took it so well.”

“I’ve never done that before,” Galo said, breathlessly.

“I didn’t go over the top, did I?” Lio asked.

“It was a bit intense,” Galo admitted. “But I liked it.”

“Mmm, good.” Lio nuzzled against his hair.

“Is it always like that?” Galo asked.

Lio paused for a moment.

“Galo,” he said, his voice slow and purposeful. “You have subbed before, right?”

“What’s that?” Galo asked.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Galo, I was _not_ talking about bunk beds.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An hour and one very awkward conversation later, they were both standing at the kitchen table drinking a glass of water. Galo kept his arm around Lio’s shoulders as the other man looked bleakly into the middle distance.

“It was an honest mistake,” Galo said.

“I can’t believe I misunderstood you that badly,” Lio replied.

Galo shrugged, “I mean, I am an idiot. I’m not that surprised.”

“You’re not an—” Lio closed his eyes. “Okay, I know I’ve said words to that effect before, but I don’t think you’re stupid and I don’t want you to think I consider you that way.”

“Oh, yeah I know. I know I’m not stupid, I just do things while ignoring the potential consequences. Constantly.”

Lio looked at him, eyes wide.

“I mean, I am a firefighter,” Galo said. “It’s a valid approach to the field.”

Lio put both his hands on Galo’s cheeks, a despairing expression upon his face.

“And no one stops you from acting like this?” he said.

Galo thought about it. “I’m hard to pin down,” Galo replied.

“Okay,” Lio said. “Okay.”

“Are you alright?” Galo asked.

“You and I are going to have a long talk, and we’re going to write some things down, and I won’t go off the cuff again.”

“Alright.”

“And we’re going to learn to communicate better.”

“You know I’d never let you do anything that’d upset me, right?” Galo said.

Lio tucked his head into the space between Galo’s neck and shoulder.

“Yeah, but I need you to remember that, even if you’re trying to make me happy,” Lio said.

“Okay,” Galo replied.

“Can we cuddle some more?”

“Sure. I like cuddling.”

“You are so cute,” Lio said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I know this is bad timing,” Galo asked, once they were back in bed. “But do you think we could do something later while you’re wearing your leather pants?”

“I can’t believe I found you,” Lio replied.

“That’s good, right?” Galo asked.

Lio petted his hand through Galo’s hair again.

“It’s very good,” he replied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kisses!
> 
> Edit: Jesus Christ I didn't expect this to pick up the way it did. Fuck it, hi, it was me, I did this, I went there, good god.
> 
> Holy fucking shit [Shame Corner](https://twitter.com/ShameCornerArt/status/1198898042218237952) made some absolutely beautiful fanart of Galo getting railed in glorious technicolour using _that_ line of dialogue. Please look at it! The colours! Phenomenal!


	2. Strap Yourself In

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Wax play, on some sensitive areas. Galo is tied up.
> 
> I started this fic wanting to write Nasty Top Lio Topping Galo From The Bottom, but then I saw [this lovely image by Jok](https://twitter.com/jok_nsfw/status/1196711855294537728) and decided it would be so much better with wax play. Thank you Jok!

“Are you going to be good for me?” Lio asked, from his perch over Galo’s hips.

“I really hope so,” Galo replied.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After their first outstanding but problematic sexual encounter, they’d had to lay down some ground rules. They chose safewords (‘freezer’ for Lio, ‘coconuts’ for Galo), discussed limits and allergies, and preferences in lube. Galo had the naivety of most novices, but also a good attitude about learning. He was, in his own words, very keen to have Lio do things to him. He just didn’t want Lio to get hurt in the process.

“You know your comfort matters too, right?” Lio asked.

“It’s okay, I trust you,” Galo replied.

Lio sighed and covered his eyes with his hand for a moment. Galo was shockingly cavalier with his own emotional and physical safety. Lio had worried, for a while, that Galo’s confidence in humanity would be damaged by the truth of Foresight’s conduct and character. For better or worse this had proved false.

“Alright,” Lio said. “In order for me to trust you as well, I need you to care about your own wellbeing and not just trust me to get it right.”

Galo seemed to understand the spirit if not the specifics. The idea that Lio could ever hurt him, intentionally or otherwise, was anathema to him.

“What if I want you to do things that I don’t like,” Galo said, slowly. “That I find uncomfortable.”

Lio’s cheeks felt warm. Something hot and mean bloomed in his belly.

“Do tell,” Lio said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Galo looked at the candle with trepidation. Lio hadn’t even lit it yet.

“You know that we don’t have to do this,” he said.

“Yeah but I want to,” Galo said.

He was squirming in his seat, with an apprehensive keenness that made Lio want to tie him down and work him over until he came dry. Lio put that little fantasy away for future perusal.

“I’m not judging, but you walk into fires all the time as part of your profession,” Lio said. “Why does this feel different?”

“Do I have to talk about it?”

“If you want me to do it to you, yes.”

Galo looked up at the ceiling and bit his lip. He made an unhappy noise through his teeth for a moment, before slumping in his seat.

“If it’s a big fire, I can see all of it, and I basically know what it’s going to do,” Galo said. “Little fires could do anything. They’re a hazard, not an actual problem. Yet.”

That made sense.

“Also, I kind of feel like I’m starting a fire again and I wanted that to be a one-time thing. It makes me feel guilty,” Galo added.

“But you still want to try?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay then, room change,” Lio said.

He pulled them both into the bathroom, the least flammable room in the apartment, and sat them both down on the floor. Galo seemed to relax a little, which was good. Lio could accept the awkwardness of testing out a scene while adjacent to a toilet.

“We’ll try it on me first,” Lio said, lighting the candle.

Lio had gone with a soy base, because it was safer than paraffin. It didn’t burn as hot and it cooled quicker. Lio lit the wick, while he kept a careful eye on Galo’s expression. A little shiver passed through him, but nothing worse than that.

Lio held the candle over his hand, and when enough wax had gathered, he let it fall. There was a spark of heat that faded quickly. The wax left pretty little spatters on his skin.

“Ah,” Lio hissed, gently.

Galo’s blue eyes went dark and liquid. He shifted, with a little pulse of his hips that Lio found very appealing.

“Hold out your arm for me,” Lio said.

Nervous, but ever obedient, Galo put his right arm out within Lio’s reach.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Half an hour later, the two of them lay cooling on the bathroom tiles. The tiny stub that remained of the candle had been relegated to the trash. Galo had Lio’s cum on his face and in his hair. Lio had made him finish in his pants, like a horny teenager.

“That went well,” Galo said, breathily.

Lio reached out to take Galo’s hand in his. He kissed Galo’s knuckles wetly, one by one.

“I have a question,” Lio said. “If you’re amenable.”

“What is it?” Galo asked.

“How good are you at keeping still?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lio may have spent many hours considering the best ways to wreck his boyfriend, but he wasn’t cruel about it. Or at least not as cruel as he could be.

“Ropes feel okay?” Lio asked, as he slipped two fingers between the binding and Galo’s skin.

“Feels good,” Galo replied.

He was trussed flat against the bed, hands bound against the headboard and his feet spread and tied to the base of the mattress. He looked so trusting, his eyes soft and his body yielding. Lio cupped a hand on Galo’s cheek and smiled when Galo catted into it. He was more than Lio had ever dared hope for.

Lio ran his hand down Galo’s chest and thought about how lovely it would be to make him cry.

“If you come before I say so, you’ll be in big trouble,” Lio said.

Galo shivered.

“Yes, Sir,” Galo said.

“I’m not sure what I’ll do to you yet,” Lio said, thoughtfully. “Maybe put your pretty cock in a cage all week and fuck your ass every night.”

Galo whined, hips twitching.

“Yes, I like that idea,” Lio said.

Lio moved further down the bed and straddled Galo’s thighs. Galo’s dick was sweet and stiffening against his leg.

“Are you going to be good for me?” Lio asked, from his perch over Galo’s hips.

“I really hope so,” Galo replied.

“That’s my boy,” Lio said.

Then he put his mouth over the plummy head of Galo’s cock.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Galo shivered as Lio slowly stroked him. Lio had his head propped idly against one hand as he watched the path of his fingers, slick with lube, up and down Galo’s fat cock. He hadn’t pushed him too far, not yet, but the night was still young.

“You know, I think your dick is my favourite toy,” Lio said, casually.

“Thank you, Sir,” Galo whined.

This was the part he’d been really looking forward to. Lio didn’t like to get fucked. It annoyed him and annoyance flipped the switch on his arousal. He did, however, from time to time, like to fuck _himself_ on a cock, provided that the owner abided by his rules.

“Now what are you going to do?” Lio asked, as he flicked the cap on the lube and coated his fingers.

“Let you fuck me,” Galo said.

“If you try to thrust your hips up, I’ll climb off you and you won’t get to come at all, are we clear?”

Galo had an electrically keen expression on his face.

“Yes, Sir,” he said.

Lio pushed his fingers into his ass, not letting Galo look at him open himself up, even though Galo was clearly mad to see it. He’d already gotten started when they were prepping the scene, just to stop the tension from dropping. His hole felt slick and ready.

He sat up and settled himself again, over Galo’s hips. He paused for a moment.

“I know I’m asking a lot of you today,” Lio said. “So, if you think you’re having trouble with it, let me know and I’ll help you.”

“Thank you, Sir,” Galo replied, smiling sweetly.

Lio brushed his clean hand through Galo’s hair.

“That’s my good boy,” he said.

He leaned back again and held the head of Galo’s cock up against his ass. Galo moaned and twitched but didn’t move otherwise. Lio moved down, felt his hole give reluctantly to the press of Galo’s cock. He made a small grunt of discomfort.

“Lio?” Galo said, nervously.

He patted Galo’s chest reassuringly.

“Your cock is unreasonably big,” Lio said, with a snobbish tone.

“We don’t have to…”

He was still shivering in his ropes.

“If I want to use your cock, I will,” Lio said. “Lie there and take it.”

“Yes, Sir,” Galo replied.

Galo was biting his lip, clearly overcome by the feeling of a tight, warm hole enveloping his dick. Galo, at his own admission, hadn’t been inside someone before. Wasn’t sure he was too interested.

He was certainly interested now.

Galo whined and moaned as Lio slowly settled down on his cock. Lio ignored him. He played with his own cock instead, savoured the fullness inside his hole. When Lio reached up a hand to play with his own nipple, Galo made a sound of such agonised longing that Lio couldn’t help but thrust down and take the rest of him inside, his hole smarting and satisfied with Galo’s desperation.

Lio pressed a hand against his stomach, like he’d be able to feel the bulk of Galo’s cock from the outside too. He rolled his hips a few times, not thrusting, but exploring the feel of a dick inside him. His hole felt hot but comfortable enough for the moment.

“I hope you know we won’t be doing this all the time,” Lio said. “I’m being very generous to you.”

“Thank you, Sir,” Galo said obediently.

Lio gave a few experimental thrusts. He felt cored. He wouldn’t have liked it much at all, were it not for the sight of Galo, prostrate beneath him gripping tightly at his own ropes. He was breathing deeply but taking it well.

Time to make it harder for him.

Beside the bed, next to the safety shears, a length of ribbon and the lube, were a pair of long, broad candles and a lighter. Lio took the first of the candles, a pretty, red one, and held it in his left hand. In the right, he flicked the flint on the lighter. Galo whined again, squirming against the bed.

Lio slammed his hips down, “what did I say about moving?”

“Sorry, Sir,” Galo replied, a slightly miserable expression on his face.

“Hm,” Lio didn’t exactly want to set him up to fail. “I’ll let you have two drips to get used to it, but I’ll know if you’re being naughty.”

Galo nodded, thankful.

Lio lit the candle before setting the lighter aside. He let the wax gather at the top, enough to make a pleasant splash against Galo’s generous chest.

“Be ready,” Lio said, before he let the first drops fall.

Galo flinched as the hot wax splattered against him. His hips twitched, reflexively, but within acceptable limits. His pretty face went slack and open-mouthed.

“S-sorry,” Galo said.

“You did well,” Lio replied, not cold but not warmly either. “You better keep it up.”

The red was dark and deep, and a nice contrast against Galo’s tanned skin. Lio flicked an errant drop away, just to see the little spot of fading redness it left behind. It made Lio want to use something hotter, leave little red marks on Galo’s skin that wouldn’t fade right away. He scratched his nails down Galo’s ribs. Needy little boys like Galo were made for abuse.

“Again,” Lio said, as he tipped the candle.

Galo sighed and whimpered as Lio let hot trails of wax drop onto his chest in between languid thrusts of his hips. When he thought Galo was too comfortable, he’d settle the candle lower and let a thicker stream fall against somewhere sensitive. The soft skin of his belly, the inside of his arm. Galo had cried out, pathetically, when Lio splashed the hot wax against the pretty peaks of his nipples.

“You little slut,” Lio said. “You liked that.”

Galo’s eyes rolled into the back of his head. Lio could feel his dick twitch inside him. The poor thing really did deserve more attention.

Lio let himself work his hole against Galo’s cock as he carefully dripped the last of the wax just above the blue thatch of hair that framed Galo’s cock. Galo cried out, the muscles in his stomach tightening artfully.

“Help me,” Galo whined, desperately. “Lio, help me.”

Lio pulled off and pinched at the base of Galo’s dick. Galo whined unhappily, his hips twitching in Lio’s hand in a way that would have had him punished if his cock were still in Lio’s ass.

“Good boy,” Lio said.

“I think I’ll come,” Galo said, embarrassed.

“Not until I say you can,” Lio reminded, firmly.

“Yes, Sir.”

“It’s not your dick anymore, remember? It’s mine and I want to play with it,” Lio said.

And then he used his free hand to slap Galo’s cock and almost came at the sight of Galo crying, thrusting his hips up, entire body flexing against the ropes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He gave him a kiss and a sip of water after that, and then took the second candle, dark blue, and set it on the edge of the side table, already lit. Galo’s chest was covered in a riot of splatters and swirls, the wax starting to flake a little. Lio wanted to add a little contrast to the picture Galo made.

But, first.

“I think I’ll let you have a little assistance,” Lio said.

He took the ribbon off the table and tied it neatly, but not too tightly, around the base of Galo’s dick. He secured it with a quick release knot. It was more a mental aid than a physical one, but Galo didn’t need a lot of prompting to meet a challenge. His eagerness to please was a source of delight and concern in equal measure.

“What do we say?” Lio asked.

“Thank you, Sir,” Galo said, eyes limpid and adoring.

“Mm, that’s my good boy.”

Lio mounted himself on Galo’s cock again and leaned into the weighty, sparking feeling that evoked.

“The next time I use your ridiculous dick,” Lio said, conversationally. “I’m stuffing your ass first.”

Galo whined, disconsolate. His body had gone tight again, trying so hard to be still. Lio took the candle off the table. A layer of melted wax had already formed, ready to paint Galo’s chest. Lio let it fall as he slowly worked his ass around Galo’s dick, moved so it rubbed nicely against his prostate. He let the wax fill in the gaps and overlap the existing lines over Galo’s quivering belly, as if he were the canvas for a particularly explicit expressionist painting.

The pressure inside Lio’s hole was nice, but if anything was going to get Lio off, it would be the sight of Galo, desperate and whining, strung taut as he tried not to come. There were pretty, wet tears in the corner of his blue eyes, his lips were swollen from biting them.

He looked up at Lio as if he were a god.

“You were made to be under me,” Lio hissed.

He set the candle low, poured a heavy drop of wax barely above Galo’s skin, right below his belly button. Galo cried out, open mouthed, shaking.

“Yes, Sir,” he cried.

Lio came, a thick strand of white over the vibrant red and blue wax.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He slipped off, moments after, ass unwilling to have anything in it after he’d cum, even if he felt uncomfortably loose and empty. Galo was crying, _unh, unh, unh, _in the aftermath, body shaking violently, so close to cumming. Even with that, he’d refrained from going against Lio’s orders. Such a good boy. So beautiful.

Lio still had the candle in his hand.

“You can cum now,” Lio said, as he poured the last of the wax directly onto Galo’s cock.

Galo screamed as he came.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Galo was limp and needy after, had to be coaxed into letting go of Lio long enough that he could wipe him down after the ropes and ribbon were off. It needed to be done and Lio needed to do it. He couldn’t stand the thought of taking Galo apart unless he was there to put him back together again.

Lio kissed him, long and languid, between bouts of praise. Galo tried to deepen the touch of their lips together, the press of their tongues. He wouldn’t, couldn’t settle.

“Lio,” Galo said, a thread of desperation still in his voice. “I need you.”

“I’m here, Galo,” Lio said.

“No, I just, I need—”

Galo spread his legs. His cock was still sore-looking and soft, but he cupped it and held it out of the way so Lio could see his hole.

“Please,” Galo said, miserably.

Even after all that, he still wanted… still needed…

Lio picked up the lube and spread it thickly over his fingers.

He opened Galo gently, fed his dick into Galo’s hole slowly. Galo finally went still when Lio was inside him. He panted softly as Lio thrust into him, pace tender. Galo never got hard. He just lay there, calmly, pacified by cock. He sighed, finally satisfied, when Lio came inside him.

“Thank you, Sir,” Galo said sleepily, as Lio tucked him into his arms again.

Lio thought that he might very well be in love with him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[](https://imgur.com/KtLeLRL)

Art by Phee

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“That was amazing,” Galo said, dreamily, the next day, as he made pancakes.

“It was pretty special,” Lio replied.

He was going to need to sit on a pillow all day. His ass was furious at him for asking so much after giving it so little, for so long.

“Your skin feel okay?” Lio asked, as Galo laid breakfast out on the table.

“Yeah, it’s not even red or anything,” Galo said. “My dick’s a little sore though.”

Lio smiled with satisfaction.

“Be like that, see if I make you post-sexy pancakes again,” Galo said.

“I’m just appreciating a job well done,” Lio replied, as he took a bite.

Good god.

“These are amazing,” Lio said.

They were soft but substantial, the sweetness of the maple syrup cut through with the tang of the raspberries that Galo had sprinkled on top.

“The secret is to let the batter sit,” Galo replied, puffing up happily.

Lio leaned over to give Galo a deep, nasty kiss.

“Guess I _will_ have to be a little nicer if I want to have these again,” Lio said.

Galo pecked him on the lips, a cheeky smile on his face.

“Wouldn’t want you to be too nice,” Galo replied.

“That’s my boy,” Lio purred.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ice cream and pie analogy. Galo doesn’t like ice cream unless it’s with pie. The pie is BDSM. The ice cream is fucking someone in the ass.


	3. How Sweet the Sound

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW in end note, it's nothing serious, but if you read it, it will spoil something badly.

Galo could’ve been a cowboy in another life.

“Lio, I want to cum,” Galo whined, as he rode Lio’s dick like a particularly determined stunt rider on a prize stallion.

“Then fucking earn it,” Lio growled, between gritted teeth.

Galo’s hole tightened for a moment, a shiver running through his body. He got so hot for it when Lio was mean to him. Lio shifted his hands from Galo’s pretty waist down to his ass and parted Galo’s cheeks. He traced the fingers of his right hand around Galo’s hole, just to feel him clench again and again. Galo’s moans dropped in pitch and rose in volume. The headboard smacked against the wall violently and it was a fucking miracle the frame hadn’t broken yet because it definitely hadn’t been made for such mistreatment.

Lio slapped Galo’s ass and grabbed his cheeks in the same movement. Galo had a great ass. Muscled and round and made to take abuse. He’d have to make him go reverse cowgirl just so he could watch it bounce.

Galo was working his hips with a little dip, using Lio’s cock to rub against his needy little prostate. He was starting to shake, the way he did when he was close, but afraid of it. The feeling too much. Too big for his little hole.

Galo always came harder from having his ass fucked.

“Lio, Lio let me touch it,” Galo whimpered, hips still circling, his teeth bitten into his lip.

“You touch your cock and I won’t let you come for a week,” Lio said.

Galo whined.

“Please, Lio… please touch me…”

God, the look of him, with his pretty little face and his shining eyes, so desperate. It made Lio want to cage his cock and finger his hole until he’d been milked dry.

“You want me to touch it?” Lio said, voice unkind.

“Yes, please,” Galo cried.

Lio raised his hand and slapped Galo’s cock.

Galo screamed; eyes rolled back with a full-body flinch.

“What do you say?” Lio hissed.

“Thank you, Sir, thank you for touching my cock,” Galo cried.

Lio slapped him again, just a little lighter. He wanted him sore, not damaged.

Galo rode him differently after, thrusts shorter, not as deep. A little pain always got him past that nervous hitch of fear over a hard orgasm. Lio liked making him cum that hard, liked to work him over until he couldn’t think after, could only lie there while Lio’s cum dripped thickly out of his hole.

“Want to cum, want to cum,” Galo chanted, eyes closed, fingers clenched in the sheets.

Lio put his index finger in his mouth so it was slicked with spit, then reached down and hooked it into Galo’s ass. Galo made a guttural, shocked noise, and then painted Lio’s abdominals in cum.

Lio came almost as an afterthought, a pleasant aperitif to the feast of fucking Galo mindless.

“Oh, Lio,” Galo said, voice so quiet, reverent.

He stayed seated, shivering on Lio’s cock. The warmth was so nice, so grounding. The apartment was silent but for the sound of their laboured breaths. Lio reached his hand up and carded it through Galo’s hair.

“Come here,” Lio said gently, his chin angled up for a kiss.

They both startled like nervous deer when someone started banging against the front door.

“Scared the hell out of me,” Galo whined.

He sat up off Lio’s cock with a little whimper which would have been very arousing were it not for the racket. Galo still looked shaky, so Lio kissed him and told him to stay put, while he pulled his own pants on. He handed Galo a pair of boxers and a hoodie before he walked to the front door. There wasn’t a hall so they couldn’t exactly hide from whoever felt the need to interrupt their evening.

Lio opened the door once Galo was dressed.

“Is there a prob—” Lio said.

“Shut! The fuck! Up!” A middle-aged man yelled, right in Lio’s face. “It’s ten pm! The rest of us have work in the morning! Fuck quieter!”

Lio blinked, hand still on the doorhandle.

“There’s no need for that tone of voice,” Lio said.

“No need? No need?” The man said. “There’s no need for you to screech about how much you like to screw, for hours, but that’s not stopping you. Show some consideration and bite a pillow or fuck in your car like every other responsible adult!”

The man’s eyes were bloodshot from his fury. His fingers were twisted into claws and his closely shaved head was as red as the rest of his face, with spittle forming on the edges of his lips. He looked like a rabid dog.

“Mr O’Brien?” Galo said, from behind him.

Mr O’Brien froze. His wide eyes tracked over Lio’s shoulder.

“Galo Thymos?” he said, very carefully.

“Yeah, from twelfth grade English,” Galo said. “Wow, been a long time.”

“It has,” Mr O’Brien said.

“I, uh, I didn’t know you lived in this building,” Galo replied.

“Just moved in this week,” Mr O’Brien said.

“Small world.” Galo stepped forward until he was next to Lio. His face had never looked paler.

“It is,” Mr O’Brien replied.

“I’m very sorry for the, um, noise issue,” Galo said. “We didn’t realise the soundproofing was that… bad.”

“These things happen.” Mr O’Brien’s hands slowly fell by his side, though his eyes remained as round as dinner plates.

“Well, I can promise that it won’t happen again,” Galo said. “Gonna… gonna try real hard there. It was rude. Not cool at all.”

“Thank you for listening to my concerns,” Mr O’Brien replied.

“We should let you get back to sleep,” Lio said, desperate for the moment to finally end.

“Yes, yes of course,” Mr O’Brien said. “Glad to see you looking well, Galo. Perhaps we can catch up some time.”

“Yeah, for sure, that’d be nice,” Galo said.

“Good evening,” Mr O’Brien said, before he turned away and walked back down the hall.

Lio closed the door. Galo pressed his hands against it and slid down until he was on his knees, head pressed against the wood. His mouth was open in speechless horror.

“I think I’m going to have to move,” Galo said, aghast.

“I’m never going to get off again,” Lio replied.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two days later, Galo had started collecting milk cartons, they had towels behind the headboard, and Lio was looking in the classifieds for a fuel-efficient hatchback.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Galo and Lio are so loud that their neighbour comes and bangs on their door. It ends politely but it's cringey for all involved.


	4. Over Rivers and Waterfalls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Crying. Detailed warnings in endnote.

Lio ran a finger down the weeping cock before him. He smiled as it twitched needily. Galo whimpered above him, but he paid him no mind. He wasn’t about to be distracted from his play.

“Look how red you are,” Lio said, saccharinely. “You’re so wet.”

A bead of precum welled at the head of the cock. Lio lowered his mouth so he could lick it away. The taste was salty and musky on his tongue, not bitter the way ejaculate was. He wrapped his lips around the head and indulgently ran his tongue around it, savouring the flavour. Lio pulled away with a soft _pop_. He wrapped his hand around the bulk of it and stroked, trying to milk more pre.

Galo sobbed, softly.

Milking it from the outside wasn’t doing much good anymore, so he sucked his own fingers into his mouth and pressed two into the tight little hole beneath. It clenched around his fingers pleasingly. He petted the silky channel until he found the pretty nub inside. The cock started to drip again as Lio circled it with his fingertips. Galo’s hips started to rock.

Lio looked up and glared at him. Galo shrunk away from the heat of it, misery in his eyes, teeth bitten into his lower lip.

“I told you to be still while I play with my toy,” Lio said.

“Sorry, Sir,” Galo replied.

“And don’t cum,” Lio cautioned.

“No, Sir,” Galo said, but he wriggled with discomfort anyway.

Lio turned away from him, dismissive. If Galo couldn’t behave, he’d have to ice him again until he calmed down. They had packs in the freezer just for this occasion.

Lio wasn’t too concerned about the dick going off. He’d put a cock ring on it before they started, one that wrapped around the balls as well. He began to move his hand again, now rubbing the nub between his index and middle fingers. As he looked at the tight, red balls in front of him, he felt inspired to suck them, one by one, into his mouth. Poor things, so neglected. He’d let them release, but only when he felt like it.

The cock was dripping once again, so delicious. He sucked on the plummy head again, as his fingers worked harder inside the hole.

Above him, Galo’s stomach clenched, muscles in stark relief, high-pitched, pained noises escaping from his throat.

It tasted so good, felt so silky on his tongue. Filled his mouth so well. The best cock he’d ever had.

“No,” Galo whimpered, head shaking side to side. “No, no, Lio, no…”

It wasn’t his safeword, but Lio paused in his play to pay Galo more attention. Sometimes Galo liked to say ‘no’ even if he didn’t mean ‘stop’. It did mean he was feeling overwhelmed, though.

He pulled his mouth away from Galo’s cock and felt a warm, sticky spurt of cum splatter against his cheek. He hadn’t taken it that way in years. He didn’t let people cum on his face.

Lio looked up and Galo burst into horrified tears.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They had actually discussed this, early on, what to do if Lio set a challenge that Galo failed. He liked to make big threats during sex, but he wasn’t interested in long-term punishment and neither was Galo. Their lives were too busy to be distracted during the day and enforcing rules would mean that Lio was effectively Domming all the time. He loved their dynamic, but it required a lot of emotional energy. He needed breaks and so did Galo. At the time, they’d decided that any punishments would be determined case by case, and they wouldn’t take it too seriously. They were sure they were old and wise enough to be able to handle mistakes in a mature fashion.

Which was pretty fucking stupid of them, really.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lio felt a cold void open inside him, and grow larger and larger as Galo continued to cry. He felt like he might break apart as Galo’s body shook and fat tears dripped down his cheeks. The sobs rocked his entire frame.

“Baby, baby boy, please don’t cry,” Lio said, anxiety rising in waves. “I’m not mad, I know you didn’t mean to, you tried so hard.”

Galo’s eyes clenched shut and cried even harder. Every now and then a garbled howl would rise from his lungs, as if he were trying to speak and failing miserably. Lio wrapped his arms around him and felt his heart drop as Galo momentarily pulled away, before pushing closer to him, like he’d felt for a moment that he didn’t deserve the comfort.

Lio knew that if Galo had rejected him in that moment, he would have fallen into a thousand pieces.

“AI SOH-UH!” Galo wept, bereft.

“You don’t have to be sorry,” Lio said, his hands carding through Galo’s hair, his eyes sore. “You’re such a good boy, you’re my good boy. I love you so much, I’m sorry I hurt you.”

Galo shook his head vehemently. He turned enough to wrap himself bodily around Lio’s chest, his head tucked into Lio’s throat. He shivered into Lio, but his body was no longer wracked by his weeping. His tears were still enough to soak Lio’s shoulder.

“I pushed you too hard,” Lio said, guilt flooding him. If Galo hadn’t been so warm in his arms, he would have been freezing.

“Nn,” Galo replied.

Lio kissed the top of his crown and rubbed his arms up and down Galo’s back.

“It’s okay, it’s going to be okay,” he said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later, Lio curled up against Galo’s chest as they lay together in their bed, clutching at one another.

“So,” Galo said. “That was a thing.”

“It was,” Lio replied.

He felt wide-eyed and sore all over.

“I feel like that was a big enough punishment for both of us,” Galo said, quiet and sad.

Lio nodded.

“I love you too, you know,” Galo said.

Lio’s face burned with embarrassment. He covered his eyes with his hand.

“I can’t believe I told you I love you for the first time after I made you cry,” Lio said, achingly.

“I think it might be on brand for us,” Galo said, sheepishly. “We don’t do anything by halves.”

It was so horribly true and exactly the sort of insight Galo would have before Lio ever thought of it. Lio cuddled in closer, regret heavy in his heart.

“I wish I’d said it somewhere better,” Lio said. “I don’t want you to think back on the first time I said it and remember being so miserable.”

He felt Galo hold a finger beneath his chin and let his head be tilted up.

“Why would I feel bad, when all you wanted to do was make me feel better?” Galo said.

“I pushed you too far.”

“Maybe it’s good…” Galo said, his eyes moving around Lio’s face.

“How could that be good?” Lio asked, frustrated.

“I think… I think a lot of the time, I assume you know everything and I’m just following along, trying to keep up.”

Lio’s heart lurched in his chest.

“But you’re learning with me, so it’s okay,” Galo said. “We talk and we compromise and we get through it. It doesn’t have to be easy all the time.”

Lio sat up, enough that he could press his lips against Galo’s in a soft, chaste kiss.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Lio said.

Galo looked tender and exhausted, but also released, as if the tears had cleansed him. Lio didn’t feel quite so centred. He felt like he needed something else, before he could feel entirely okay.

“Can I do anything for you?” Lio asked.

Galo seemed to understand, implicitly. He took one of Lio’s hands in his and kissed Lio’s knuckles, the way Lio often did after one of their scenes. Lio smiled, comforted by it.

“I’d really like some ice cream,” Galo said, with a wry grin.

“Okay.” Lio gave him another gentle kiss. “I’ll be back soon.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lio walked down to the apartment lobby, rubbing his nose against the sleeve of his hoody, no fucks left to give after the afternoon he’d had. He had twenty dollars and his mobile stuffed into his tracksuit pants.

Mr O’Brien was also in the lobby, checking his mailbox. Lio froze. Mr O’Brien looked up and Lio saw, in that exact instant, that Mr O’Brien _knew_. And Mr O’Brien knew that he knew, that Mr O’Brien knew, what had happened not two hours ago.

Maybe Lio had _one_ fuck left to give.

Lio did not bother to greet him. Mr O’Brien narrowed his eyes at Lio, lips thinned.

“What did you do?” He asked, voice teacher-firm.

“I literally cannot tell you,” Lio’s mouth spoke, before his brain could catch up.

“Oh, good God.” Mr O’Brien clenched his eyes shut.

“Not like that!” Lio’s mouth kept talking. “We just, did a thing and a thing happened and we talked about it and it’s going to be fine, I’m buying ice cream now.”

“_You_ _better be good to that boy!_” Mr O’Brien said, through closed teeth. “Or so help me!”

“I am good! I will be good!” Lio said, sweat gathering around his forehead.

“Good!” Mr O’Brien replied, voice tight.

“Can I please leave!” Lio begged.

“I would appreciate that!” Mr O’Brien cried.

Lio fled. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I got cookie dough,” Lio said, after he’d spent ten minutes getting back to their apartment while ensuring Mr O’Brien was nowhere fucking near him.

“Aw, that’s my favourite,” Galo replied, happily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Galo cums before Lio says he can and becomes very upset about it. Lio is also upset because he feels he pushed him too far. They talk about it and resolve their feelings.  
There's also some objectification, where Galo's body is considered as a toy separate to him, but obviously consensually.  
Mr O'Brien shows up in a little post scene again. Sucks to be everyone.
> 
> Oh hey HL, don't you have an assignment and a goddamn longform christmas fic to finish?  
Yes but I just had this idea that I liked and can smash out.  
You fucking fool.  
Anyway hope you like it! Please comment to help justify my awful decision making!!!


	5. Jenga

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has a chronological order, but that order isn't in line with other chapters. It dances around between them.  
No CW.

_Domesticity_

Lio didn’t live with Galo, he just spent most of his evenings with Galo, bought groceries with Galo, made dinner with Galo and slept in Galo’s bed four to five days out of seven. Lio did his laundry in Galo’s basement, swept the floors while Galo dusted and dried the dinnerware that Galo washed.

But they didn’t live together.

“Hey, I just had a thought,” Galo said, as he handed another plate to dry.

“What is it?” Lio asked.

He ran a teatowel over the porcelain and scrunched his nose up at how unabsorbent the cotton was. The material was thin and felt like a poly blend. They needed to buy some better ones.

“We’ve been talking a lot lately, about the things we’re up to.” Galo rubbed a sponge over a cup. “And I realised we never talked about the names.”

“Names?” Lio asked.

“Like how I call you ‘Sir,’ when we’re doing kinky stuff.”

Lio paused from his resentful thoughts about kitchen linens. Galo was right, they really hadn’t talked about it.

“I like being called ‘Sir,’” Lio said. “I probably wouldn’t like anything more possessive than that. ‘Master,’ is a turn off.”

“That’s fair,” Galo said.

Galo thumbed at a little mark on the side of a spoon.

“Do you mind being called a ‘ good boy?’” Lio asked.

“Oh no, I really like that. I don’t think I’d like anything super degrading, though?”

Lio leaned his hip against the kitchen cabinets. He decided to leave the rest of the plates and cutlery to dry. He wasn’t getting anywhere with a wet dishtowel.

“Could you give me a few examples?” Lio asked. “I want to get a feel for what you do and don’t like, a little better.”

Galo put the casserole dish in the sink and left it to soak for a moment. He gestured for Lio to give him the handtowel.

“It’s wet,” Lio said.

“It’s good enough.” Galo wiped the suds off his hands. “It’s kind of hard to say, you know? I think there’s some things that I wouldn’t like when I’m not turned on, that I would like when I was turned on. I know I don’t like things like ‘bitch,’ or...”

“Or what?” Lio said gently.

“I feel rude saying it, it’s really mean.”

“Say it once and you never have to again.”

Galo leaned down, his cheeks a little pink, “Like ‘_whore,’_” he whispered.

Lio couldn’t quite suppress a smile. Galo was so sweet.

“I don’t like it either,” Lio said.

Galo had turned back towards the sink and pulled out the metal wool. He scrubbed at the little black bits that had backed onto the dish in the sink.

“It just feels disrespectful, you know?”

He wanted to hold him in his arms forever.

“I know,” Lio said, before he bussed a kiss against Galo’s cheek. “I’m going to take the trash out, want to get back to this later?”

“Sure thing,” Galo said, hands busy.

Lio slipped his shoes on and grabbed the bag he’d left tied up by the door. He took his key in his left hand and opened the door.

“Don’t forget the recycling!” Galo yelled.

Lio sighed and took off his shoes again.

* * *

_Failure_

Princess Pear danced across the television screen, smugly rubbing her stolen victory in Dowser’s face while he was forced to politely applaud her. Lio gripped his controller so hard it almost creaked.

“The blue bomb is for cowards,” he said.

“That’s what you get!” Galo shouted, hands raised to the sky as he did a lap of the apartment. “That is what you get when you take on the champion, Lio!”

“You’re so immature!”

“I can’t hear you over the sound of how amazing I am!”

Galo graduated to performing a series of mid-air jabs, followed by an uppercut, all aimed at nothing. His beautiful arms flexed in a manner that would’ve been very appealing had Lio not been consumed by impotent fury. Lio was amazing at Marko Kart. In eighth grade he had been unbeatable. Meis and Gueira could not compare to him. _Lucia_ had never bested him on the rare occasions they’d been alone and bored at the fire station. He was the king of Chromatic Causeway.

Not once, in two whole months, had Lio managed to win a single race of Marko Kart against his boyfriend.

“You know what this means,” Galo said, gleefully.

“That wager was non-binding,” Lio hissed.

“We shook on it.” Galo held his hand up, as if in demonstration. “Be a man, Lio.”

“This is juvenile.”

Galo leaned in close, his voice firm and husky, “Lio de Gallon, Fotia.”

“God _damnit_,” Lio said.

* * *

Lio rode on Galo’s shoulders the entire way to the pizza place.

* * *

_Recognition_

Galo used to love attention, any way he could get it.

“Hey, buddy, what are you up to?” Lydia asked.

Lydia was one of the new workers at the orphanage, two months in. She smiled all the time and smelled like flowers. There was something familiar about the scent, that brought to mind fading, pastel images of his mother. Lydia didn’t look like her, not that he could remember, but she was pretty and nice, and she was _there_. Galo was fairly sure she didn’t know his name.

“I was going for a walk.” The teacher had made him leave school early. He’d been too loud. “What are you doing?”

She held up a bucket.

“I’m getting some water so I can wash the windows outside,” she said.

“Can I help?” Galo asked.

She smiled brighter, and it made him feel better, because that smile was all for him. “Sure, that’d be great.”

Galo stood on the short ladder and stretched his arms to reach the higher panes. He tried to be as quick as Lydia was, so he wouldn’t slow her down or annoy her. She hummed a little tune as she worked and every now and then she’d ask him little questions, like how his day had been and what his favourite colour was.

“You’re such a good helper!” She said, when they were finished, her hand gentle upon his head as she ruffled his hair. It felt so nice and warm.

Galo basked in the attention. There was so little of it to go around. There were so many orphans at the Home.

“Hey,” Lydia said, teeth shining white. “Do you want to take a picture?”

Galo nodded, and when she held her phone out to take the photo, she put her arm around him. He smiled as brightly as he knew how.

She showed it to him, after.

“Look how cute you are!” she said.

At the end of the year, she left, as most of them did. One of the older kids called it a ‘gap year’. Galo didn’t like to think about it much, but something about the phrase stuck with him, spoke to a part of him that remembered what it was like to have people who stayed.

* * *

Every few weeks, the Gov would come to visit the orphanage, with his assistant and a man who had a flashbulb for a face. Galo would smile and smile and try to make them laugh. Would try to make them happy. The man with the flashbulb face would hold out a little recorder and ask all the children questions, but especially Galo. Galo was special, because the Governor had saved him.

One day, when there had been more than one flashbulb and many recorders, the Gov lifted Galo up and set him on his broad, steady shoulder. He held Galo up safe while the cameras flashed and it felt like being loved, for a while.

Galo would steal the Matron’s newspapers and cut out the articles, when they were released. He filled three ringed books with them by the time he aged out of the orphanage. No more photo ops, then, but the Matron sent him away with a kiss on the cheek and a bag full of clean clothes. The tears streaked down her cheeks as he left, even though he told her not to cry.

* * *

Galo grew up forgetting the faces of his parents. Their photos burned in the fire. He hadn’t thought to write his memories down (_the words would jump around the page, the letters upside down and turned around_). He couldn’t remember how they spoke, or the smell of their shampoo, or the little nicknames they had called him. He had spent his childhood in a dormitory of children who would come and go while he remained.

He’d never known why, or what was wrong. If _he_ had done anything wrong. He’d always hoped that maybe one day, if he were good enough, the Gov would take him home, and Galo would have a family again. Galo tried very hard, but it was never quite enough, and the Gov was so very busy. Even still, the Governor got him his first proper, adult job.

Galo would wave for the people, when they looked at Burning Rescue with relief and awe.

* * *

Kray told him he was an eyesore.

* * *

Maybe he was right.

* * *

So what?

Why would that ever stop him? Galo was so much more than the broken portion of his heart. He’d built a truth over a lie and Kray was wrong if he thought Galo shouldn’t be proud of it. He would always choose hope over cynicism, people over ideas. Everyone deserved to be saved.

When his fist collided with Kray’s cheek, it wasn’t an act of violence. It was the broken rib that came from CPR. He extinguished Kray’s poisonous flames and breathed the life back into Lio’s lungs. He did that, because that was who he was, and it didn’t matter who else knew.

Lio had looked at him, then, held in his arms, and Galo had felt seen in some cosmic, breathless way.

* * *

“Mr Thymos!” an enthusiastic woman with a press pass and a teal blazer said. “Do you have any plans to run for Governor?”

Galo smiled, teeth white and eyes bright. He was in his formal uniform, the way he always was for press releases.

“No Ma’am,” he said. “I’m always going to be a firefighter.”

“What are your opinions on the incarceration of your long-time benefactor, Governor Kray Foresight?” asked another reporter, this one with blond hair and a snarl.

“Mr Foresight is no longer the Governor, and his actions are going to go before the courts, the way they should do. I’m more concerned about the wellbeing of the Burnish who are recovering their lives again.”

“Mr Thymos!”

The cameras flashed, again and again, bringing motes to his eyes and reminding him of when he was held high, on a broad steady shoulder, by someone he thought loved him.

* * *

Afterwards, when he was alone at night, he'd think about the people who had used him for selfies and by-lines, and he found he couldn't remember any of their names. Their regard was as transparent as a pane of glass, but he'd needed it then.

He’d needed so many things, back then.

* * *

He was relieved when Lio started spending the night.

* * *

_Connection_

“How’s the new prosthetic doing?” Lio asked.

“It’s taking some getting used to,” Marco said. “But I’m grateful for it.”

He curled the fingers on his left hand. The movement was fluid, but maybe a little slow. Marco had no trouble with holding a glass or a fork, so long as he was careful with it.

Marco had been one of the many people left with a physical disability, in the wake of Foresight’s experiments. He’d been a pizza cook before, but he’d found himself a niche as an advocate after the Promare burnt out. He had a gentle way about him which made his frank recollections of his experiences all the more uncomfortable to hear.

There was a loud contingent of people who still supported Kray Foresight, but their numbers dwindled by the day. One of the Burnish’s first PR moves had been to build relationships with medical companies that could craft prostheses like Marco’s. The interviews were humanising. It was difficult to hate a group of people who were visibly rebuilding their lives and reconnecting with society.

Lio and Marco met at least once a week, to plan and touch base. They usually went to Marco’s old workplace, a little Italian restaurant on the main drag. The restaurant was cosy and warm, and Marco’s boss was always happy to host them. He hadn’t been Burnish himself, but he’d protected Marco.

They were planning to do a little puff piece about the pair of them, in the paper, when Marco was up to running the ovens again.

“Are you excited?” Lio asked.

Marco’s smile was so very bright.

“I can’t wait to make pizza again,” Marco said, eyes crinkling. “I have so many things I want to try.”

“Save a table for Galo and me when you announce your grand return.” Lio grinned.

“That and I’ll even name the special after you,” Marco replied.

Lio laughed lightly, in reply.

It wasn’t all perfect. There was work to do, still, and always would be. Much of it was out of Lio’s hands, delegated to a series of courts that had an entire city and a decommissioned spaceship to deal with. It was a concern, but still—

He was outside, in the sunlight, with people who mattered.

* * *

_Trust_

Galo had tells. They were subtle. He was not a liar by nature or inclination, but he _was_ eager to please. When Galo agreed to do something that he didn’t want to do, his smiles would get a little tense around the eyes. His shoulders would go stiff. Not by a lot. Just enough that one might notice, if they knew what to look for and were actively looking for it.

“Yeah sure, let’s try it!” Galo said, with a grin that looked as if it had been painted on.

Lio heart dropped out of his chest.

“You don’t want to,” Lio said.

He couldn’t parse his own tone. Did he sound petulant or accusing? Had he spoken with any character at all? Lio’s heart began to beat uncomfortably fast.

“I won’t know if I like it, unless we try it.” Galo rubbed a hand through his hair, his smile a little closer to genuine. “There’s no harm in it.”

Lio’s body felt cold and shaky. Galo was so easy to read, except that he wasn’t, and they had _discussed this_.

“There’s a difference between things that make you excited, and things that don’t,” Lio said.

Galo’s brows turned down, his expression confused. His lips shifted into a little frown.

“It’s not that bad, you don’t have to worry so much,” Galo said.

“I need to know I’m not doing something that could hurt you,” Lio said. He could hear his voice becoming more tense.

“It’s okay, I trust you!” Galo’s blooming smile was finally honest, and it made Lio feel sick.

“I don’t want you to trust me!” Lio cried. “I want you to be honest with me!”

Galo flinched, bodily. Lio saw his hands clench against the seat of his chair. His eyes widened, full of hurt, as if he were the wounded party.

“Okay, it’s not a big deal, we can do something else,” Galo said, beseechingly.

Lio felt small and dismissed. How many times had they had this conversation? Lio didn’t want to guess at Galo’s feelings until he finally got it wrong. They’d muddled through everything else, but not this. He needed Galo to talk to him about it, but Galo didn’t seem to know how, and wouldn’t try.

It _hurt_ him. Deep in his chest, it hurt, and it made him feel empty. It reminded Lio of the part of himself that was gone, that he had tried to replace with hard work and connection. Galo had always understood him effortlessly, before, or had he only assumed he had? It felt like bitter rain washing away his convictions.

Lio was freezing.

“that’s not the problem,” Lio said. “Why won’t you listen to me?”

He could see the first sparks of panic ignite in Galo’s eyes. Lio hated the knowledge that he’d caused it, but it brought a cold anger to the surface too. He couldn’t give comfort now, not while they were circling the same argument they always did, without resolve.

“I just…” Galo’s voice shook. “I just want to please you.”

It was exactly the wrong thing to say.

“Do I look pleased?” Lio asked. “How do you think I’ll feel, if you _trust_ me too much to say anything when I go past a limit, if you look at me like you’re afraid of me? I don’t want a doll, I want a partner, and I don’t want to _break_ him.”

Galo shifted in his seat, as if he were about to stand. He reached his hand out.

“Lio…” he said.

He couldn’t stand the thought of being touched. His skin was crawling. He could barely breathe.

“Don’t.”

Lio pushed away from the table and grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair. He held his hand out, arm visibly shaking, when Galo made to follow him. He strode over to the door. Shoved his feet in his boots without lacing them. He’d do it later. He needed to get out. He needed air.

“Lio, I’m sorry,” Galo said, voice tremulous. “I’ll fix it, I promise, please don’t go.”

“I need some space. I’m staying with Meis and Gueira,” Lio replied.

He ignored the rest. It was pointless.

Lio felt so brittle he might break.

“When will you be back?” Galo asked, eyes shining.

“I don’t know,” Lio spat.

He slipped out the door and shut it behind him. He didn’t look back.

* * *

The tears came once he was outside, in the cold night air. He brushed them aside and kept walking, towards the downtown area, where he had a room in a dingy little apartment he shared with his friends. He hadn’t slept there in three days.

What the fuck was he thinking?

They’d only been dating for four months; they’d only _known_ each other for a little more than that. Galo was… Lio had _never_…

He couldn’t think about it. Not until he’d had some sleep and some space. His heart was shards in his chest.

It was just a fight. It was just a stupid fight.

Lio felt in his pockets for his keys. He realised he’d left them, in the key bowl, on the set of drawers by the front door. His wallet too.

He kept walking and hoped that Meis and Gueira would be home when he got there.

* * *

_Heartbreak_

Galo had been inside a building once, when the gasline exploded. He’d been close enough to feel the shockwave. He felt the power of it through his entire body, so quickly he hadn’t recognised it. He heard a loud sound and then he was on his knees, with a ringing in his ears that wouldn’t go away. The world had spun. He hadn’t known which way to crawl.

This was like that.

He fell back into his chair. His chest hitched silently as he gulped for air. Fat tears streaked down his cheeks.

He’d done it again. He’d just wanted to be good. The way he had wanted to be good when he was small, the way he had with Kray. Fell into it, even though he’d learned better. Maybe he hadn’t learned at all.

He leaned his elbows against the kitchen table and covered his eyes with his hands. His heart went thready with the drive to run out the door and just keep running, until he could not run anymore; until he could not think anymore. But if he left, then no one would be there if Lio chose to return to him. If Lio returned, he’d apologise. He’d be good.

Lio didn’t come home that night.


	6. Homeostasis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *inhales*  
Normally chapter notes would go here, but this time I have something else to talk about.  
As many of you likely know, my country has been on fire for weeks. Our government has been ineffectual to the point that our leader went to Hawaii while the east coast burned. Most of our rural firefighters are volunteers and they have been strapped for aid or rest. Some have died. 12.35 million acres of land have burned. Half a billion animals have died. Our koala population (that iconic marsupial) has been cut by at least 30%.  
Shit's fucked.  
I am going to be donating as soon as fresh income comes in from my new job, but in the meantime, if anyone donates to the [RFS](https://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/volunteer/support-your-local-brigade) and sends me their receipt, I will write them a fic to their chosen prompt (with caveats for my personal limits) at five cents per word. If you want to pitch in with a friend, go for it. That's five cents per Australian dollar, by the way. Our dollar's relatively weak, so there's more bang for your buck.  
Authors don't have the same platform as artists, but I wanted to put it out there. If you don't have the money to donate, don't feel bad. It's hard for us all out there. I just wanted to offer what I could, small though it is.  
I hope you enjoy this chapter.

_Ice_

The buzzer rang while Meis and Gueira were in the middle of a very competitive game of Scrabble. There had already been multiple challenges from both sides and a heated discussion of the validity of the word ‘macgyvered’. Tempers were frayed.

“What time even is it?” Gueira asked, glaring at the front door.

Meis looked at his phone. “It’s… eleven? Who the hell?”

“We could ignore them,” Gueira said.

The bell rang again. Meis got out of his chair.

“Let this be a distraction from your unconscionable cheating,” he said.

“You just can’t stand the natural evolution of the Promish language,” Gueira spat.

Meis gave him the finger at the same time as he pressed the button for the intercom. He could see Gueira pulling down the skin under his eyes and sticking his tongue out, like a total child.

“Who the hell is this?” Meis asked.

There was a pause.

“Hey, it’s me.”

“Boss?” Meis asked.

Gueira stood up out of his chair and walked closer to the intercom. Lio sounded unlike himself, so unsure that they could hear it even through the graininess of the intercom.

“I forgot my keys,” Lio said.

“Yeah, no worries, come on up,” Meis said, pressing the button that unlocked the door.

Gueira gave Meis a concerned look, which he returned. The Boss never forgot anything, not keys or rations or tax numbers. That was their job. They looked towards the scrabble board, which dominated their table.

“Truce?” Gueira said.

“Truce,” Meis replied.

Meis swept the board away and into their side cupboard. Gueira grabbed three beers from the fridge, along with a packet of chips and jerky from their tiny pantry. He set it down on the table in time for Meis to open the door and let Lio in.

Lio’s eyes were red. His cheeks were tear stained.

“Hey,” Gueira said, gently. “What happened?”

“It’s nothing,” Lio said.

Meis put his hands on Lio’s shoulders and steered him towards the kitchen table. He pressed Lio into an open chair. Gueira sat down next to him and popped the lid on a bottle of cheap pale ale. Meis sat on the opposite side of the table and opened the bag of chips.

“Come on, it’s just us,” Gueira said. “You can tell us anything.”

“That’s what we’re here for,” Meis added.

Lio held his hands over his face for a moment, before brushing them down, fingers pressing over his mouth. He nodded, a little reluctantly. They already knew what he was going to talk about, only one person could ever make the Boss look so fragile.

“I had a fight with Galo,” Lio said.

“I’m sorry, man,” Gueira said. Meis nodded in agreement.

It was probably time for them to have a fight, honestly. They’d been honeymooning for months with the barest hints of discord. Their relationship progression was the emotional equivalent of gunning a race car, they were bound to go too fast around a curve at some point.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Meis asked.

Lio shook his head, before a frustrated expression passed over his face. He sighed.

“Galo has this gut instinct to say yes to the things I want to do, even if he doesn’t like them,” Lio said, frustration colouring his voice. “We’ve talked about it so many times, but just when I think he’s getting it, he forgets, and we end up right where we started.”

Meis frowned, slightly. “It sounds like he’s trying to compromise, is that so bad?”

Gueira had shifted a little back, barely out of Lio’s sight, and was shaking his head subtly but very quickly. Lio gave him an exasperated look, right as Meis realised what Lio had actually been talking about.

“Oh shit, this is a sex thing,” Meis said.

Gueira reached over the table and slapped him upside the head. Meis clutched at his bruised skull.

“Hey!” he said.

“Fucking dumbass,” Gueira hissed.

Lio let out a short, sharp laugh. He rested his chin in his hands and looked at the pair of them with exhausted fondness. Lio’s eyes took on a glassy cast.

“I’m sorry,” Meis said. “That was really dumb of me.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Lio said.

Lio had a way of going cold and distant— or not quite— not cold to the world, but cold inside himself. As if there were a winter inside him instead of a warm, beating heart. He’d often been like that when they were on the lam in Mad Burnish and clutching at smoke, trying to help their people. Lio would carry the weight of the world on his shoulders, if he could. He wasn’t good at asking for help.

“No, we’re going to worry about it,” Meis said, firmly.

“You worry about us,” Gueira said.

Lio rolled his eyes and looked uncomfortable, a state of being they had very rarely seen him display. It sat awkwardly on him.

“Okay, fine.” Lio sighed again. “You guys vaguely know what I’m like in relationships.”

They both nodded. There had been many boring nights by the fire and with that had come horn talk. Learning each-other’s tastes had been entertaining, if nothing else; a welcome respite from a world full of uncertain living.

“So, with Galo, when we’re…” Lio closed his eyes. “_intimate_… I call the shorts. But the deal is that we only do things we both fundamentally enjoy.”

Lio paused to take a sip of his beer. His nose wrinkled at the bitterness of it and he quickly put it down.

“Our first time was a problem because he just went along with what I liked, and I didn’t know that it was entirely new to him. If he hadn’t enjoyed it, I’m not sure he would have told me right away. He knows how to use his word, but I can’t trust that he won’t let me go too far if he’s willing to say yes to things he hates. If I miss a signal one day, then what happens? I love him. I don’t want to harm him; I don’t want him to look at me and see someone who truly hurt him and got off on it. It’s like ice in my veins just _thinking_ about it.”

Lio made a frustrated, embarrassed sound and buried his face in his hands. His fingers curled enough to scratch into his skin. Gueira reached over and gently pulled Lio’s hands away. He held them so they couldn’t clench into fists.

“I’m sorry,” Gueira said. “Makes sense he’d be like that.”

Lio looked up abruptly.

“What?”

Gueira frowned and it was obvious that he was considering what to say and how to say it. The look in his eyes went firm.

“You know him a lot better than we do, but it’s pretty obvious that he’s eager for attention, particularly yours.”

Meis nodded. “He’s not like that with everybody.”

“It’s not an excuse, but I think we all know there’s a lot going on there,” Gueira added, looking a little guilty.

“You make him sound like a doormat,” Lio replied, defensively.

Gueira winced. He let go of Lio’s hands with a pat and reached for his beer. He took a sip, as if trying to buy time.

“We read the papers, we know he doesn’t have family,” Meis said.

“I _have_ talked about that with him,” Lio said.

He folded his arms. He was very close to shutting them off completely, but Meis and Gueira had known him long enough to know how far they could push.

“You’re not going to like me asking this,” Gueira said, with great sympathy. “But have you talked to him about Foresight?”

“What?” Lio asked, incensed. “Why the fuck would we talk about—”

Even angry, Lio was the smartest person in that room or any other. They could see it, the moment he figured it out.

“No, we don’t really talk about him.” Lio’s voice was weak. “Just, the trials. Occasional venting.”

Meis and Gueira looked at him with unbearable kindness.

“Galo really loved Foresight,” Gueira said. “I talk with Aina sometimes, you know? All that did a number on him. He built his life around trying to make Foresight proud.”

“He’s a pretty level guy, but I dunno, that’s big, for anyone,” Meis replied.

“We’re speculating but I can see why he’d maybe want to keep you happy pretty hardcore. He might not be able to talk about why. Especially given the potential context.”

Lio stared despondently at the table, fingers once again turning into claws, digging into his knees this time. His lips pursed, like he was trying not to cry.

“Fuck,” Lio hissed.

“Hey,” Gueira said, placatingly, his hand already moving to Lio’s shoulder.

Lio shook his head. He leaned away from the touch, one hand over his face again, the other wrapped around his waist protectively.

“Of course that’s why,” Lio said.

“At least you can talk about it now, it might help,” Meis said, gently.

Lio inhaled deeply through his nose and let the breath out slowly. He shook his head.

“Knowing why doesn’t mean he’ll stop,” Lio said. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Boss…” Gueira said.

“I’m going to bed, sorry, I just… can’t talk about this anymore.”

Meis and Gueira nodded.

“See you in the morning,” Meis said.

“Hope you sleep okay,” Gueira added.

Lio nodded, absentmindedly, before walking quickly off to his room. He shut the door behind him. Meis and Gueira’s eyes met over the table.

“I don’t think that helped,” Gueira said, feeling cold and sad.

“No,” Meis replied.

* * *

_Serotonin_

William got up every morning at seven and was out the door by eight. He worked a few blocks away at the local public school and liked to get a walk in before he had to prepare for the day. Thursdays were his favourite day of the week, because he didn’t have a class until after midday and he could spend the whole morning quietly ticking off his to-do list.

Galo finished his morning run at about the same time as William left, so, with increasingly less awkward regularity, William got to have a chat with him before he left for the day. While William had never wanted to know as much as he did about Galo’s romantic life, it hadn’t lessened the care he felt for the boy. Galo had always been a good kid who’d been dealt an unfair hand.

Luck was on his side that day. He walked into the main lobby of their building, right as Galo walked through the front door. Galo was polite enough to hold it open for him.

“Good morning, Galo,” William said, warmly.

“Hey, Mr O’Brien,” Galo replied.

His voice was a little muffled, his face partly hidden by the hoodie he had pulled up. The fall of his hair obscured his eyes.

William was not a fool.

“Galo, what’s wrong?” he asked.

“Aw, nothing,” Galo replied.

He raised his hand, cuff tucked beneath his thumb, and wiped the sleeve across his nose with a sniff. William huffed and pulled a handkerchief from his shoulder bag.

“Come on, at least use a tissue,” he said, with mild admonishment.

Galo looked up from under his hoodie and William could see dark circles beneath the boy’s eyes. Galo turned away slightly. He sniffled again, but this time he took the handkerchief and used it as its nature intended it.

“Sorry,” Galo said. “I better let you get to work.”

William took a step to the side, before Galo could brush past him. Galo looked back at him with surprise. He’d seen that fragile, lonesome look on so many young people during his career and he was sure to see many more. Everyone’s pain was unique, and everyone needed something different, but William knew Galo well enough to know what to ask.

“Why don’t we go for a walk?” William said.

“I just finished a run…” Galo said.

“Just a short walk, I’ll buy you a coffee, protein shake, whatever active young people drink these days.”

It pained him to see Galo’s confusion, unchanged from how he’d been during high school, when he received a simple, unexpected kindness from an adult.

“Okay, um, sure,” Galo said.

He followed William meekly out the door, like an imprinted duckling.

* * *

William didn’t make him talk much until Galo had a coffee in his hands. He found that the warmth did wonders for a person’s mood and their ability to talk about what bothered them. It had been his go-to move for decades.

“What’s wrong?” William asked, as they sat down on a bench overlooking the local park.

Galo clenched his coffee cup in his hands.

“I think Lio broke up with me,” Galo said.

William felt a moment of reflexive anger which he quickly tamped down. He’d never liked that boy.

“I’m very sorry,” William said.

“It was my fault,” Galo replied.

The desire to disagree with that statement sat at odds with the useful response of actually hearing Galo out.

“Why would you say that?” William asked.

“I promised Lio I’d always be honest with him, about my feelings. But I wasn’t, and I really hurt him.”

_Ah_. William nodded.

“It can be hard to be open with people, sometimes even with people we trust,” William replied. “Honesty and vulnerability come hand in hand.”

“Maybe he shouldn’t come back. I try, but I just make the same mistake over and over again.”

“Do you want him to come back?” William asked.

Galo nodded, misery clear in every line of his face.

“Alright, then what do you think needs to change?”

Galo turned to look him in the eye.

“Shouldn’t I start with an apology?” Galo asked.

William shook his head. “Apologies are important, but they come later. When you upset your partner, in any relationship, it’s important to think about why. Sometimes it’s your fault, sometimes theirs, sometimes both. It sounds like he communicated the issue. If you know what the problem is, changed behaviour is the best apology you can give.”

“It’s not easy,” Galo said, softly.

“Neither’s fighting fires, but you learned how to do that.”

“What?”

Something approaching a smile finally made its way onto Galo’s face. It eased William’s heart. Young people had to go out and live and make their own mistakes, but they deserved to have someone there who could give them advice, whether they took it or not.

“Relationships are hard work, but that doesn’t mean they’re not fulfilling and that you can’t learn to be better at them. I was with my wife for twenty years, rest her soul, and I couldn’t have asked her a better friend or partner. We had no idea what we were doing in the beginning. We just worked at it. We both had to grow and change.”

“I’m worried that if I’m really honest with him, he won’t want me anymore,” Galo said.

“Everyone hates it when people say this, but if that is so, then he’s not the right person for you.”

He said it as gently as he could, but he still saw the tightening around Galo’s eye, the fear that hid in the hunch of his shoulders and the nervous way he fiddled with his hands.

“I really want him to be the right person,” Galo said, voice thick.

“Then trust him and be honest about how you feel,” William said. “I’m only a floor away if you ever need to talk.”

“I don’t know what to say, I’m not good with words like that.”

“You could write them down. I’d read them, if you wanted,” William offered.

Galo put his face in hands. “That would be so embarrassing!”

“I wouldn’t be embarrassed.” Not when it was important. “And you don’t have to, I just wanted you to know it was on offer, if you need it.”

Galo nodded and while he looked flustered, he looked grateful with it too. William wasn’t sure he’d actually take the help, but he was at least considering it. Galo took a long sip of his coffee and looked better for it.

“Thanks, and I’m sorry about Mrs O’Brien,” Galo said.

“It was a long time ago. I still feel sad about it sometimes, but that’s what happens when things are important. I’m so grateful for her, every day, and that’s the stronger part.”

“You’ve really got it together,” Galo said, with admiration.

William stood and patted Galo on the shoulder. He’d been a skinny thing, when he was in school, shooting up fast as a sapling. Galo wasn’t that gangly kid anymore, but he still had growing left to do. William hoped that he could help. He certainly wanted to.

“We’re all works in progress,” William said. “You’ll get there.”

Galo heaved himself up and immediately dwarfed William by at least a foot in height. It was easy to forget, sometimes, that the kid who used to nod off in his English class had saved the world. William wouldn’t ever look at him and see a hero, labels were dehumanising in their own way, but Galo was still exceptional. So was Lio, feelings aside. They had a language of shared experience. Hopefully they could work it out. William felt a moment of pride in Galo, for having come so far.

“Thanks Mr O’Brien,” Galo said.

“Any time, I mean it,” William replied, sternly.

“Sure thing,” Galo said, with a smile.

They parted ways at the gates of the park, Galo heading off home and William walking towards the school. He felt the wind rush past him, pleasant and wild.

Change was the only thing anyone could rely on. Inside his heart, he wished Galo all the best.

* * *

_Lock_

Galo arrived home to the sight of Lio sitting on the front steps, his arms crossed and settled on his knees. He looked frustrated and tired. Galo took in a deep breath, before clearing his throat. Lio looked up, his eyes as wary as his body language.

“Hey,” Galo said.

“I forgot my keys,” Lio said. “And my wallet.”

“Ah,” Galo replied. “Yeah, I noticed. Come on up and I’ll get them for you.”

He could feel his courage failing him, in the face of Lio’s upset. He’d been planning to write what he wanted to say down, but Lio had pre-empted it, and the words stuck in Galo’s throat. They stood quietly through the most awkward elevator ride and didn’t manage to say anything else between there and the door. Lio didn’t even come inside, once they were there. He waited for Galo to collect his things for him.

Galo thought about it and realised just how much stuff Lio had at his place, how much time they spent together and how little time they spent apart. Galo had spent the entirety of their relationship just hoping for the best, oscillating between gleeful thankfulness that Lio had chosen to be with him and subconscious fear that he’d leave.

Lio didn’t look ready to talk, but Galo wasn’t sure when they’d talk at all, if he left. There was too much going on in their lives, it would be so easy for this, for them, to slip through the cracks and fall away. He didn’t want them to become distant figures, connected only by history they didn’t talk about.

Galo picked up Lio’s wallet from the drawers by the front door. His fingers clenched around the leather.

Mr O’Brien had told him to trust and be honest.

“This is my first relationship,” Galo said, eyes on his hands. “I don’t know what I’m doing.”

He heard Lio sigh.

“I know,” Lio said.

“When I was a kid, I spent all my time saying yes to people, because if I was good enough, they’d give me attention and I _really_ needed some attention. Only reason I didn’t start breaking windows or tagging walls was because of—”

The elephant in the room.

“You can say his name,” Lio replied, tightly.

Galo frowned, a little ire rising in him.

“No, I can’t,” Galo said, turning to meet Lio’s eyes. “Because he did awful things to you and everyone you care about. I don’t know how to talk to this about you, because the guy who hurt me, hurt you a hundred times worse.”

Lio’s eyes widened. The armour of his frustration chipped away and beneath it, Galo could see the man who cared for him. Galo’s stomach swooped in relief. Lio hadn’t thrown away all his feelings over one fight. Galo still mattered.

“That’s not…” Lio swallowed, his throat working. “I know they’re too different to compare them.”

“All he did was not love me,” Galo said, candidly. “So what? Plenty of people haven’t loved me. I went out there and found some that _did_.”

“Fuck,” Lio said. He put his hand over his eyes, “Galo…”

“It’s not like he tried to… actually, he did try to kill me.”

Lio looked at him incredulously, a tear slipping down his cheek and a shocked smile on his face.

“Yes,” Lio said. “He definitely did try to kill you. I was there.”

“I don’t find that as upsetting,” Galo admitted.

“You probably should!” Lio cried.

“Maybe? I don’t know,” Galo replied.

Lio brushed his fingers over his cheeks and Galo thought to pull out the handkerchief Mr O’Brien gave him. He remembered that it was dirty, a moment later. He stuck it back in his pocket, though he noticed that Lio’s eyes followed the movement.

“I came here still feeling so angry and hurt about all this,” Lio said. “But I hate it, I don’t want to be angry at you.” 

Galo didn’t know how to respond. He didn’t want to nod or shake his head. He wasn’t sure that Lio’s words were something you could agree or disagree with. What could he add save to mirror part of the sentiment? He’d hated it too. He hadn’t wanted hurt Lio.

“I want to try with you,” Galo said, with painful earnestness. “I just… need a little help.”

Lio nodded, his face blotchy and red. He was beautiful.

“Alright, we can try,” Lio said.

“I want to talk it out with you, come up with a plan,” Galo said. “I won’t just give you promises this time.”

Lio looked so relieved, his tired eyes filled with a tentative warmth, his arms drifting to lay by his side. He took a step towards Galo.

“I want to hold you,” he said. “Can I?”

Galo’s heart beat like a drum inside his chest.

“Please, just, please,” Galo said, words fighting his lips.

Lio walked into him, arms wrapping around Galo’s chest, his head tucked into Galo’s shoulder. Galo returned the embrace, grateful tears welling in his eyes. He’d been so afraid.

They held each-other for a long time, door open, Lio’s wallet dropped to the floor. Galo kissed Lio’s hair a dozen times, while Lio gripped at the fabric of his hoodie.

They went to bed exhausted, even though it was barely midday.

When Lio left, hours later, called away by his commitments, he went with a kiss and a promise to come by again in the morning. Galo closed the door with his goodbyes and when the sound of Lio’s steps faded, he began to cry again.

He felt better, after.

* * *

_Key_

It wasn’t like they sorted it all out, immediately.

They had to make some changes that they didn’t like. Less sleepovers. Less sex. Less comfy co-dependence.

But with that, more talking, more understanding than they’d had before. Galo learned the temperature of Lio’s moods, the warmth of connection and the cold that was divorced from it.

“I don’t always know in my head if I’m going to hate something or not,” Galo said. “It’s easy enough when I like something, though.”

They had taken to having their conversations outside Galo’s apartment. It was inconvenient, but the distance helped keep them from being distracted by the memories in that space. Galo’s tiny studio had been the place where they’d fallen into bed the first time, where they’d made love and fucked and fought. The breeze off Prometh lake was calming for both of them. It was easier to talk there.

“Then I think any ‘maybe’ that you have needs to be a ‘no’,” Lio replied.

Galo nodded.

“I might need to think about it sometimes,” Galo said.

“In the past we’ve had a tendency to run from an idea to its execution,” Lio mused.

“Ugh,” Galo’s head dropped back. “I don’t think we can pick a kink and try it on the same day anymore.”

“It’s not like we’re strangers to anticipation,” Lio replied, sweetly.

They shared a slightly heated look that softened quickly. There’d been a little fear, at first, that slowing their relationship down might kill it. It hadn’t proved true.

“Let’s make book, of all the things we’ve tried, with little reviews and everything,” Galo said, cheekily. “Add in new stuff as we think of it.”

“You want to rank our kinks?” Lio smiled.

Galo nodded. “I actually kind of do, I think it might help me. I could pencil mine in and you could add yours later.”

Lio had an expression of unexpected pride in his eyes. He’d been looking so much surer again, since Galo had started fully acknowledging Lio’s fears.

“Let’s do it,” Lio said.

Galo took Lio’s hand in his and ran his fingertips over the lines of Lio’s palm. He threaded their fingers together, his hands warm and reassuring.

“Not feeling cold?” Galo asked.

“No,” Lio replied. “I feel great.”

* * *

One evening, on the way out after dinner with Galo, Lio ran into Mr O’Brien. The man gave him a nod and a polite smile.

“I’m glad you two worked it out,” he said.

Lio had still not quite recovered from the horrid embarrassment he felt at being in the man’s presence, but he was doing better than he had been. Galo had told him about how Mr O’Brien had helped.

“Thank you,” Lio said. “I’m glad too.”

“You take care of him, now,” Mr O’Brien said, as his steely hand clamped down on Lio’s shoulder, too firm to ever be mistaken for companionable.

“Of course,” Lio said weakly, as Mr O’Brien walked past him and up the stairs.

Sometimes you didn’t need somebody to tell you that they’d kill you and hide your body in the woods if you fucked up badly enough. These things were implied.

* * *

_Ikea_

Tucked in the corner of the textiles section, a young man thumbed his way through the ELLYs and the TEKLAs and the simply named Harlings. Beside him, his boyfriend waited while looking across the aisle at the lamps.

“I don’t need more teatowels, I have teatowels, they’re fine,” the boyfriend said.

“They’re not fine, they are bad teatowels,” the young man replied.

“These teatowels cost… ten dollars? Ten dollars for two teatowels?” the boyfriend continued.

“It’s the cost of two cups of coffee. If you skip two cups of coffee, you can have teatowels that last you for years.”

“I get my coffee at the station.”

“Then I’ll buy them.”

“You don’t have to buy them, we came here for a lamp, let’s look at lamps.”

“If you can buy a giant stuffed shark, I can buy teatowels.”

The boyfriend picked up his giant stuffed shark, which had previously been resting on a stack of upholstery fabric. He cradled it defensively.

“BLÅHAJ and I have a bond, it’s not the same.”

“BLÅHAJ is a significantly more costly investment than this pack of teatowels.”

The shark looked at them both with something approaching disappointment, or as much disappointment as velvety soft shark toy could have.

“I will buy one pack of teatowels, but I would like Blaj to live on the couch in my flat.”

“I accept this ridiculous compromise,” Lio replied.

Galo bopped him on the head with the shark.

“Blaj loves you already,” he said.

Lio rolled his eyes and reached out his hand. Galo took it.

“Let’s pick a lamp and then buy tea candles,” Lio said.

“Those things are a fire hazard…” Galo replied.

They walked away from the textiles, down the walkway and out of sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't want to say something negative in the top notes but... please don't donate to the Salvation Army. I've worked with so many people that have been poached from the Salvos to other orgs and all of them had stories of emotional abuse and homophobia from working with those guys. I wouldn't ever stop an org from providing support to people, but they are toxic to their staff and to clients who don't fit their religious beliefs. I suggested the RFS because our rural firies are all volunteers and they deserve direct support more than anyone.  
Thank you again for reading my work!


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